A view of the Airbus A 320. FIle | Photo Credit: Reuters
In an announcement, Air India Express advised Reuters it acknowledged the error to DGCA and undertook “remedial action and preventive measures”.
Air India has been underneath intense scrutiny because the June Boeing Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad which killed all however one of many 242 folks onboard. The world’s worst aviation catastrophe in a decade continues to be being investigated.
The engine challenge within the Air India Express’ Airbus was raised on March 18, months earlier than the crash. But the regulator has this 12 months additionally warned guardian Air India for breaching guidelines for flying three Airbus planes with overdue checks on escape slides, and in June warned it about “serious violations” of pilot responsibility timings.
Air India Express is a subsidiary of Air India, which is owned by the Tata Group. It has greater than 115 plane and flies to greater than 50 locations, with 500 day by day flights.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency in 2023 issued an airworthiness directive to deal with a “potential unsafe condition” on CFM International LEAP-1A engines, asking for substitute of some elements corresponding to engine seals and rotating components, saying some manufacturing deficiencies had been discovered.
The company’s directive stated “this condition, if not corrected, could lead to failure of affected parts, possibly resulting in high energy debris release, with consequent damage to, and reduced control of, the aeroplane.”
The authorities’s confidential memo in March despatched to the airline, seen by Reuters, stated that surveillance by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) revealed the components modification “was not complied” on an engine of an Airbus A320 “inside the prescribed time restrict”.
“In order to show that the work has been carried out within the prescribed limits, the AMOS records have apparently been altered/forged,” the memo added, referring to the Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Operating System software program utilized by airways to handle upkeep and airworthiness.
The “mandatory” modification was required on Air India Express’ VT-ATD aircraft, the memo added. That aircraft usually flies on home routes and a few worldwide locations corresponding to Dubai and Muscat, in accordance with the AirNav Radar web site.
The lapse “indicates that accountable manager has failed to ensure quality control,” it added/
Air India Express advised Reuters its technical workforce missed the scheduled implementation date for components substitute as a result of migration of information on its monitoring software program, and stuck the issue quickly after it was recognized.
It didn’t give dates of compliance or instantly deal with DGCA’s remark about information being altered, however stated that after the March memo it took “necessary administrative actions”, which included eradicating the standard supervisor from their place and suspending the deputy persevering with airworthiness supervisor.
The DGCA and the European security company didn’t reply to Reuters queries.
Airbus and CFM International, a three way partnership between General Electric and Safran, additionally didn’t reply.
The lapse was first flagged throughout a DGCA audit in October 2024 and the aircraft in query took only some journeys after it was supposed to exchange the CFM engine components, a supply with direct data stated.
“Such issues should be fixed immediately. It’s a grave mistake. The risk increases when you are flying over sea or near restricted airpsace,” stated Vibhuti Singh, a former authorized skilled on the India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.
The Indian authorities advised parliament in February that authorities warned or fined airways in 23 cases for security violations final 12 months. Three of these circumstances concerned Air India Express, and eight Air India.
Published – July 04, 2025 03:14 pm IST
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